Needle guard for sewing machines



Oct. 3, 1939.

Filed May 26, 1938 M .m [T m E fi Q mi a M.

WITNESS.

Patented Oct. 3, 1939 UNITED STATES .FATENT OFFICE Simon Rosenfeld, New York, N. Y., assignor of one-half to Louis Tockerman, New York, N. Y.

Application May 26, 1938, Serial No. 210,234

1 Claim.

This invention relates to improvements in needle guards for sewing machines.

Sewing machine operators are subjected to accidental injury by reason of the fingers of the hand coming into the path of the reciprocating needle, during the feeding and guiding of the material being sewed, beneath the presser foot. Whereas Various forms of guards have been devised to remedy the danger of injury by reason of the fingers of the hand of an operator coming in contact with the needle, to my knowledge such guards are not in commercial use, due to the interference of the view of the reciprocating needle by the eyes of an operator, and to the cumbersome and expensive construction. It is therefore one of the main objects of the invention to provide a needle guard which will give maximum protection to the fingers of an operator without interfering with the operators view of the reciprocating needle.

Another feature of the invention is the provision of a needle guard for sewing machine which is simple and inexpensive of construction, and easy to apply to sewing machines now in use without necessitating any changes in the construction thereof.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent as the following specification is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which,

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the improved needle guard in position for use upon a fragmentary portion of a sewing machine.

Figure 2 is a front elevational view.

Figure 3 is a side elevational view reverse to that shown in Figure 1.

Figure a is an enlarged horizontal sectional View on the line 4-4 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the needle guard per se.

Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view on the line 6-5 of Figure 5.

Referring to the drawing by reference characters, the numeral l6 designates my improved needle guard for sewing machines in its entirety, and which includes a vertical tubular or cylindrical body l constructed of rigid metal. One side of the tubular body H is opened throughout its length as at I2 whereas the opposite side of the body is provided with a vertical elongated slot l3 which terminates short of the ends of the body. The bottom edge of the body H at the front there-- of is notched inwardly to provide a needle sight opening I 4.

Extending rearwardly from the top of the body H from that side of the body having the elongated slot I3, is an attaching bracket Hi, the inner end of the bracket having a rolled or hook portion it which is welded or otherwise secured to the tubular body H. The attaching bracket G5 has its main arm ll disposed on the plane of one side of the tubular body I l and the outer end of the arm terminates in an inwardly extending right angular flange IS. The arm portion ll of the bracket [5 is provided with an inwardly extending notch l 9- which opens through the lower edge of the arm l1.

' In Figures 1 to 4 of the drawing, I have illustrated my improved needle guard in position upon a conventional type of sewing machine which includes the usual presser foot bar 20 which supports at its lower end, a presser foot 2 l, the said presser foot being held to the bar by a headed clamping screw 22. Disposed parallel to and forward of the presser foot bar 20 is the reciprocating needle bar 23, the lower end of which carries the stitching needle 24, which needle is held in the lower end of the bar by a set screw 25.

The needle guard I0 is attached to the needle bar by loosening the clamping screw 22 and positioning the fiat arm I! of the bracket l5 against one side of the presser foot 2|, the shank of the clamping screw 22 passing through the opening or notch l9. In applying the needle guard to the sewing machine, the needle bar 23 is moved to the limit of its upward movement in order that the needle 24 and the lower end of the needle bar 23 may enter the tubular body ll, after which the attaching bracket I5 is associated with the presser foot bar 20 and presser foot 2| in the manner just described, the screw 22 being turned to clamping position to rigidly secure the needle guard ID in position. The set screw 25 is free to slide in the open side I 2 of the tubular body and by reason of both sides of the tubular body being open, the needle 24 may be inspected at will and changed without necessitating removal of the needle guard Hi from its position upon the presser foot bar. The notch or opening Id at the lower edge of the front of the tubular body provides a sight opening whereby the operator is enabled to see the point of the needle during its reciprocation when the material being stitched is being fed beneath the presser foot of the sewing machine, but too small to permit the finger of an operator to pass beneath the guard or in any way come in contact with the point of the needle. By reference to Figures 1 to 3 inclusive it will be seen that the lower end of the tubular body I l terminates close- 1y adjacent the base of the presser foot.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that I have provided a simple and inexpensive needle guard which does not in any way interfere with the sewing skill of an operator, nor is it necessary to remove the needle guard from its operative position upon a sewing machine when it is desired to change needles. The needle guard Ill may be applied to sewing machines now in use without necessitating any change in construction of the machine.

While I have shown and described what I consider to be the most practical embodiment of my invention, I wish it to be understood that such changes and alterations as come within the scope of the appended claim may be resorted to if desired.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

A needle guard for sewing machines of the type embodying a reciprocating needle bar having a needle attached thereto by means of a set screw, and a presser foot bar including a presser foot; comprising a hollow elongated rigid body open at each end and adapted to encompass the needle and a portion of the needle bar; a bracket on the upper end of the body; means on the free end of the bracket to detachably secure the body to the presser foot bar in rigid relation with respect thereto; said body being of a length extending from a point closely adjacent the presser foot to a point in the path of the set screw on the reciprocating needle bar; said body being provided with a continuous slot extending from one end to the other on one side and opening into said open ends to accommodate the reciprocating movement of the said set screw and permit the change of needles; said body being further provided with an opening extending lengthwise of the body and being positioned opposite to the said slot to co-operate with the slot to permit the needle to be viewed, changed, and threaded without removing the body from the machine; said body further having a notch in the front at the lower end thereof to allow the operator to View the needle point from sewing position; and said body being otherwise imperforate except for the notch, slot, and opening.

SIMON ROSENFELD. 

